Client-driven Technology Continues to Evolve and Grow.

Clients are frustrated by the technology (and billing) practices of lawyers. What's more, they are starting to do something about it. Developments at DuPont, Cisco and other innovators have garnered a lot of attention in 2005. Large corporations are beginning to track best practices, create purchasing consortia and start to pressure their law firms on technology. They see lawyers as service providers who should be catering to the technologies companies use and making it easy for them to work with the lawyer, not vice versa. With a recent survey indicating that 99% of the largest U.S. firms intend to raise hourly rates in 2006, corporate clients will no longer be passive.

Watch for:

1. More, but not enough, law firms surveying their clients about technology desires and needs.

2. Many more corporate clients pushing their law firms for improved delivery of services through technology or forcing law firms to move into the clients' technology systems.

3. More than one widely-publicized instance of a major law firm losing work to another firm when it did not provide a technology solution. There was one major example of this in 2005 that got a lot of attention. In 2006, there may be shock waves.

4. Significant interest in extranets for both litigation and transactional (deal rooms) practices. My best guess is that intellectual property practices will become leaders in this area.

5. Surprising moves by large clients to small and mid-sized firms who cater to the technology needs of clients, especially if those firms also provide cost savings and budget certainty.